Watch and optical retailer Stelux Holdings International Ltd. saw its turnover drop by 19.8 per cent year-on-year to HK$690.3 million (US$89.2 million) for the three months ended June 30, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday after trading hours. The company operates the City Chain watch retailer as well as the Optical 88 optical retailer chains, among others. During the first quarter of its fiscal year the retailer’s sales in Greater China registered a plunge of 21.3 per cent year-on-year to HK$525.4 million, whilst those in Southeast Asia dived 14.5 per cent year-on-year to HK$164.9 million. The Hong Kong-listed company explained that ‘poor sentiment continued to dampen sales at our different business units’ resulting in the decline in quarterly turnover. In terms of segment, the retailer’s watch retail business under the City Chain brand posted a decline of 29.5 per cent year-on-year in turnover to HK$319.3 million, of which that generated by Greater China fell 33 per cent year-on-year to HK$238.2 million. Meanwhile, the optical retail business of the group under the brand Optical 88 fell 14.3 per cent year-on-year in turnover to HK$244.4 million vis-a-vis HK$285.2 million during the same quarter of last year. Nevertheless, another of the company’s optical brands, eGG, saw sales surge 30.7 per cent year-on-year in the three months, which amounted to HK$50.7 million compared to HK$38.8 million for the same retailer one year ago. In particular, sales in Greater China soared by 22.7 per cent to HK$47.6 million. As at the end of June, Stelux was operating 336 City Chain shops, 214 Optical 88 retail outlets as well as 72 shops under the eGG brand in Greater China and Southeast Asia. For its previous fiscal year, ended March 30, the retailer recorded an annual net loss of HK$190 million from a profit of HK$91.8 million one year earlier, with turnover derived from Hong Kong and Macau sliding 20.3 per cent year-on-year to HK$1.2 billion due to ‘the decline in Mainland Chinese tourist traffic and associated spending fall’.
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